This is where to plug in and discus issues related to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Action Alerts - 2nd Am, more

Action Alerts

3/26 VCDL at New Arlington Gun Shop

Sign Petition on Supreme Court Nomination

Call the Governor on Education Bill

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3/26 VCDL at New Arlington Gun Shop

Posted on Facebook by Virginia Citizens Defense League March 14th:

NOVA Armory will have its grand opening on Saturday, March 26, at 9 AM. Delegate Rich Anderson and some other VIPs will be there for the grand opening, as will I. We expect the antis to be there. They formed a group solely for the purpose of torpedoing NOVA Armory and we can't let that happen. I'm sure the police will be happy to remove anyone who is actively trying to block access to the business. Here is the address: NOVA Armory2300 N. Pershing Drive,No. 2BArlington, VA 22201

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Sign Petition on Supreme Court Nomination

From Tea Party Patriots -

Please send the following urgent message to your U.S. Senators to uphold precedent. Do not let the Senate confirm President Obama's liberal Supreme Court nominee! It should up to the people to decide, in the 2016 election....

First, the PCESA legislation bill puts "Parents and Kids First."; The bill provides ALL Virginia parents - whose students attend public school, regardless of their personal circumstance - a financial capacity to exercise their "fundamental right" under Title 1, Chapter 2.1, Section 1-240.1 of the Code of Virginia "...to make decisions concerning the upbringing, education, and care of the parent's child." Because, education savings account moneys follow the child, parents - whose public school is failing them for any reason - are financially able to choose a non-public education alternative that is allowed under current Virginia law.

Second, Education Choice Drives Better Education Outcomes. Opponents to this legislation are always silent on this point. According to the Friedman Foundation report that is issued every two years, 56 "statistically rigorous, gold-standard" studies, since 1998, prove that parental choice programs - compared to public school programs - have delivered statistically significant, positive impact on student academic outcomes, public school academic performance, reduced cost, racial de-segregation, and promotion of better civic values and practices.

Third, this bill lowers public school teacher-to-student ratios and increases per-pupil funding available to public education. These are outcomes which opponents of this bill actually want, but are unwilling to admit. Sixty-five percent (65%) of parents participating in the Arizona ESA program use PCESA accounts to send their child to private school. Removal of a student from public school will cause student-to-teacher ratios to go down and private school student-to-teacher ratios to go up. Changes will be absorbed by both systems, until an equilibrium is achieved that is determined by parents' perception of the quality of their students' education: a right that they are entitled to by law.

As shown in the graphic above, removal of one student from the school system will cost the state $3,625, or 32% of the current per-pupil allocation in Virginia. Forty percent (40%) of the per-pupil expenditure accrues to the state and locality as savings and represents money that otherwise would have been spent on a student who is no longer enrolled. This money is available for administration and reinvestment in the education of remaining students. Twenty-eight percent (28%) covers the fixed cost of ongoing school operations. The bill's net effect is: (1) parents' right to choose is realized; (2) one student is educated at 1/3 of the current per pupil cost; (3) residual savings are available for re-investment in students who remain in public school; (4) the financial capacity to continue existing school operations remains.

Dr. Marty Leuken, Friedman Foundation's Director of Fiscal Policy and Analysis, has prepared a fiscal note for the PCESA bill. Using National Center for Educational Statistics historical data and Virginia data from the Superintendent of Instruction's Annual Report (2013-2014), he determined that for every $1,000,000 in PCESA expenditure, the combined state and local positive impact will be approximately $1,235,000 or a net savings of $235,000 (See attached Fiscal Impact Statement).

Education Choice is a Political Winner. Virginia voting parents support parental choice in education. A Friedman Foundation Study entitled ";Virginia's Opinion on K-12 Education and School Choice," reports that 64% of Democrats, 68% of Republicans, and 66% of Independents in Virginia favor school choice alternatives.

In summary, ESAs provide parents with economic capacity to exercise education choice - their right - and will deliver similar or better outcomes than public school at 1/3 the cost.